A Persistent Myth

I'm really kind of astonished that I keep having to have this conversation.

A few Mondays ago, someone I know posted this harmless little appreciation on her Facebook wall: "A teacher somewhere in your neighborhood tonight is preparing lessons to teach your children or marking work while you are watching television. In the minute it takes you to read this, teachers all over the world are using their "free time," and often investing their own money for your child's literacy, prosperity, and future. Re-post if... you are a teacher, an ex-teacher, love a teacher, or appreciate a teacher." I see these little venerations quite a bit for teachers, firemen, cops, soldiers, paramedics, truckers and other self-sacrificial professions without which what passes for our society would be a rudderless craft adrift on a sea of dysfunctionality. I never see these for farmers or garbagemen or nurses or nannies, for some reason. Doctors, I wager, have too many shows on TV and make too much for people to feel okay about including them in these Interweb hallway needlepoints. Anyway, recognition.

People post these, I think, for the most part not expecting anyone to disagree with them, or at least, be fucking dumb enough to do it out loud. I mean, I'm not fond of the clergy, but I wouldn't let you beat one up. Some behaviors are just generally off the rails. That's why the sole purpose, really, of this blog entry is to shine the light of shame on Tracy Carroll Meisinger of Colorado, whose Facebook posts shitting all over teachers (admittedly, specifically ones from Colorado) included the following hunks of steaming rhetorical tripe:

"They get so many teacher work days in Colorado, plus every Wednesday afternoon, they don't really need to do stuff at home. I appreciate teachers, but, c'mon... "

"I'm sick of the guilt trip as if I'm sitting on my ass watching TV while teachers are suffering. LOTS of people work overtime and bring work home."

"...there is now a new day off from school. "Teacher compensation day". How do I get a job where I have a "compensation day"?"

"AND - they don't even do the PT conferences during school hours anymore - though the days are schedule (sic) to do them then."

"...if a teacher needs to take work home, they are using the planned work time for something other than school."

Brilliant, yes? You can be sure that she was assailed by many to the point of surrender, not least by me. Some of us even used facts, something with which Tracy was apparently unfamiliar. For the record: not me, I went for the personal attack, opening with "Wow, Tracy: You're completely ignorant in a way I find offensive." I do this because I'm a caring and compassionate guy. Over the course of what I consider to be a fairly short thread, we got to find out that Tracy homeschools as well, so before you think of Tracy as a victim here, just remember that she spread her ignorance to her progeny and then sent them out unprepared into the world. We could all be victimized by her and her blathering offspring someday.

Poor Tracy - yet another American sucked into a whirlpool of lies and bullshit. Poor Tracy, ridden with guilt and rage at one of the oldest tropes there is; The Overpaid and Underworked Teacher with the easy job, getting their summers off, free from oversight or comeuppance. Tracy, unfortunately, is an idiot with an axehandle she doesn't realize has no axe. Fewer Tracies might benefit us all.

Comments

A Persistent Myth

I'm really kind of astonished that I keep having to have this conversation.

A few Mondays ago, someone I know posted this harmless little appreciation on her Facebook wall: "A teacher somewhere in your neighborhood tonight is preparing lessons to teach your children or marking work while you are watching television. In the minute it takes you to read this, teachers all over the world are using their "free time," and often investing their own money for your child's literacy, prosperity, and future. Re-post if... you are a teacher, an ex-teacher, love a teacher, or appreciate a teacher." I see these little venerations quite a bit for teachers, firemen, cops, soldiers, paramedics, truckers and other self-sacrificial professions without which what passes for our society would be a rudderless craft adrift on a sea of dysfunctionality. I never see these for farmers or garbagemen or nurses or nannies, for some reason. Doctors, I wager, have too many shows on TV and make too much for people to feel okay about including them in these Interweb hallway needlepoints. Anyway, recognition.

People post these, I think, for the most part not expecting anyone to disagree with them, or at least, be fucking dumb enough to do it out loud. I mean, I'm not fond of the clergy, but I wouldn't let you beat one up. Some behaviors are just generally off the rails. That's why the sole purpose, really, of this blog entry is to shine the light of shame on Tracy Carroll Meisinger of Colorado, whose Facebook posts shitting all over teachers (admittedly, specifically ones from Colorado) included the following hunks of steaming rhetorical tripe:

"They get so many teacher work days in Colorado, plus every Wednesday afternoon, they don't really need to do stuff at home. I appreciate teachers, but, c'mon... "

"I'm sick of the guilt trip as if I'm sitting on my ass watching TV while teachers are suffering. LOTS of people work overtime and bring work home."

"...there is now a new day off from school. "Teacher compensation day". How do I get a job where I have a "compensation day"?"

"AND - they don't even do the PT conferences during school hours anymore - though the days are schedule (sic) to do them then."

"...if a teacher needs to take work home, they are using the planned work time for something other than school."

Brilliant, yes? You can be sure that she was assailed by many to the point of surrender, not least by me. Some of us even used facts, something with which Tracy was apparently unfamiliar. For the record: not me, I went for the personal attack, opening with "Wow, Tracy: You're completely ignorant in a way I find offensive." I do this because I'm a caring and compassionate guy. Over the course of what I consider to be a fairly short thread, we got to find out that Tracy homeschools as well, so before you think of Tracy as a victim here, just remember that she spread her ignorance to her progeny and then sent them out unprepared into the world. We could all be victimized by her and her blathering offspring someday.

Poor Tracy - yet another American sucked into a whirlpool of lies and bullshit. Poor Tracy, ridden with guilt and rage at one of the oldest tropes there is; The Overpaid and Underworked Teacher with the easy job, getting their summers off, free from oversight or comeuppance. Tracy, unfortunately, is an idiot with an axehandle she doesn't realize has no axe. Fewer Tracies might benefit us all.